Planet cannot wait for perfect science
The Jan. 7 letter from Dean Myles missed the point in the current controversy over global warming. He argued that we need more accurate information before deciding whether we should act.
While I agree that we should base our decisions on the best information possible, in this case, time is against us and a decision needs to be made quickly.
Science is a continuing process that seeks the truth. Sometimes the truth is very elusive (e.g., what is the cause of cancer), but over time, theories based on mounting scientific data can be developed (e.g., the existence of atoms).
We do not yet have definitive data for the cause of the current rise in the Earth's temperature, but the evidence is strong enough for a consensus of expert climatologists to determine humans play an important role.
The point missed is this. Catastrophe will hit globally and it will affect all of us directly if the Earth's temperature continues to rise. This is a fact.
Are humans, in part, responsible for the rising temperature? Some say no, but the majority of experts say yes. We cannot afford to wait for better data. It will be too late. We need to act now.
The situation is dire, contrary to the points Myles made. For example, it may be true that cold kills twice as many people as heat, but this is a fallacious argument.
We are not talking about a relatively small rise in temperature, directly causing deaths, but about a rise that will cause coastal areas to be flooded and farmlands to become arid. How many people died and suffered during the Dust Bowl period in the 1930s?
Most scientists agree that HIV causes AIDS. There are some, however, including a Nobel laureate, who disagree. Are you willing to expose yourself to HIV and hope the minority is correct and you won't get AIDS?
Are you willing to believe the minority on global warming and do nothing to save a few dollars and hope that catastrophe won't hit? That is the choice we all need to make, a choice about whether to act or cross our fingers and hope that the warming trend will stop by itself.
Bob Nishikawa
Batavia